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With help from Caitlin Emma, Maggie Severns, Nirvi Shah and Stephanie Simon

DEAL OR NO DEAL? NO BUDGET DEAL (YET): Rep. Paul Ryan and Sen. Patty Murray didn’t reach a budget deal during a meeting Wednesday. From POLITICO: “Murray and Ryan are trying to wrap up a budget agreement that would set 2014 discretionary spending levels near $1 trillion, while replacing the sequester with alternative, targeted spending cuts. No cuts will be made to entitlement programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. The potential deal, as described by sources involved, also includes increasing revenue by way of increasing fees on airline ticket purchases.” Read more: http://politi.co/191Z1VK

—Fate of Pell Grant?: The bedrock grant program for low-income students was explicitly exempt from sequestration in fiscal 2013 but isn’t in 2014. A 1985 law will carve out an exemption for Pell if sequestration is applied as another across-the-board cut. But lobbyists said Pell could be at risk if a budget deal leads to a lower cap on discretionary funding. How big a risk? It’s not clear: the grant program ran a surplus in 2013 and is assumed to be stable in future years. Just like for many other domestic spending priorities, the top-line spending figure will be key.

—NDD United calls for replacing sequester: Some 470 groups, including many education advocates, wrote to Congress pleading for an alternative to the budget cuts. Read the letter: http://politico.pro/191ZlDO

ENROLLMENT BOOST FOR IBR: Education Secretary Arne Duncan talked up much-improved enrollment numbers for income-based repayment at the Federal Student Aid conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday, but said millions more borrowers could benefit. Enrollment has climbed from 280,000 Direct Loan borrowers in June 2012 to almost 1.2 million now, and about 100,000 borrowers have enrolled since Sept. 30. But the Education Department is still reaching out to 3.5 million more who could benefit — some of whom are in forbearance, deferment or are already behind on payments.

MILLER TALKS TRANSFORMATIVE ED TECH: House Education and the Workforce ranking Democrat George Miller will push his Transforming Education through Technology Act, introduced in February, at a National Coalition for Technology in Education and Training event this afternoon. It will encourage members of Congress and others to participate in four “pop-up classrooms” simulating a tech-fueled science experiment, math or social studies lesson. In prepared remarks, Miller says adults should encourage students to “power on, not power off” in the classroom. “We need to learn from students about how they learn, where they learn, and how they seek information ... Unfortunately, federal technology policy has stood on the sidelines in recent years.”

SCHOOL LUNCH BILL DROPS TODAY: “Rep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) will today introduce a bill to loosen the standards set by the massive overhaul of the school lunch program, potentially refueling criticism against the legislation that passed three years ago. Noem’s bill, ‘Reducing Federal Mandates on School Lunch Act,’ would eliminate calorie caps on meat and grain, giving schools some flexibility in what they can serve.” More from Pro Agriculture’s Tarini Parti: http://politico.pro/18ErN0E

BLOOMBERG TOUTS RECORD: His successor plans to dismantle many of his education policies — but for now, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg remains in charge, and he’s issuing a flurry of press releases. First, he announced that average SAT scores for NYC students rose eight points this year over 2012, even as the national average score declined three points. Latino students posted especially strong growth. Then he touted a huge jump in the number of students passing Advanced Placement exams. On Wednesday, he said the city’s four-year graduation rate hit a record high: 66 percent, “further evidence of the incredible progress New York City students are making and the impact our reforms have had in transforming a once dysfunctional system,” he said.

—Skeptics, however, aren’t so sure. They point out that the mayor boasted of a giant leap in test scores earlier in his tenure — only to see those gains collapse after a state look at exams in 2010 found they had become too easy.

BIGGER ROLE FOR PARENTS IN SCHOOL SPENDING: California is phasing in a major shift in school funding that gives districts more flexibility in budgeting but requires getting input on priorities from parents, students and teachers. A poll out today from EdSource finds parents eager to help: 72 percent are willing to commit time, including 47 percent who would spend two or more hours a week helping shape school spending.

—Challenges for low-income parents: The survey also found that involvement lags among low-income parents. They told pollsters they’d help more if schools provided child care during community meetings, translated presentations into their native languages and assured them their input would get serious consideration. “It is reassuring that parents from all income levels want to be involved,” EdSource Executive Director Louis Freedberg said. “The challenge facing California’s education leaders is how to ensure that all of them have the opportunity to do so.” The poll: http://politico.pro/1csyQq0

COLLEGES WELCOME EXPERIMENTAL SITES EXPANSION: At least nine colleges said Wednesday they are already designing experiments allowing more flexibility with federal financial aid rules: Brandman University, Charter Oak State College, Excelsior College, Kentucky Community and Technical College System, Lipscomb University, Southern New Hampshire University, Westminster College, University of Wisconsin-Extension and University of Maryland University College.

NEXT HEA HEARING TO FOCUS ON ACCREDITATION: Watch for an announcement soon that a Senate committee hearing Dec. 12 will focus on accreditation, a source tells Morning Education.

SHOULD TASERS AND PEPPER SPRAY BE USED ON STUDENTS? Civil rights groups in Texas want school police officers to be banned from using Tasers and pepper spray on students. Some lawmakers agree but legislation hasn't progressed. The groups' call reached a fever pitch two weeks ago when a student at Cedar Creek High School, southeast of Austin, was shocked with a Taser and went into a coma. A county sheriff’s spokeswoman told the Austin American-Statesman that the student tried to interfere in a fight between two girls, did not listen to deputies and acted aggressively before he was shocked.

—The groups’ argument: The ACLU and Texas Appleseed wrote [http://politico.pro/1bhSIxX] to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement on Wednesday, asking for standards for use of force by school police officers. Because questions have been raised about the use of Tasers on adults, and pepper spray can affect dozens of students — not just those police may be trying to control — they have no place in schools, Deborah Fowler, deputy director of Texas Appleseed, told Morning Education.

SPOTLIGHT ON CAREER EDUCATION: The Association for Career and Technical Education hosts its annual convention this week, drawing 3,500 classroom teachers and administrators to Las Vegas. One goal: Updating the image of technical education. “The perception is that a lot of these courses are old school, like wood shop, but most are really focused on workplace needs,” Stephen DeWitt, the association’s deputy executive director, tells Morning Education. One trend: Integrating more vocational classes into traditional academic paths through high school. Blurring lines makes it hard to define “career and technical education” as a separate field, DeWitt said. The convention’s agenda: http://bit.ly/1b3oIBs

—Duncan: New grants "complement" Perkins: The secretary spoke on the new Youth CareerConnect program at the conference Wednesday. "Let's be clear: These grants are designed to complement, not replace, the Perkins Blueprint," he said of the Obama administration's proposal to overhaul the longstanding $1 billion career and technical education grant program. Read his full remarks: http://politico.pro/1cZNVQo

SYLLABUS

—Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin signs executive order saying Common Core assessments will be developed locally without federal government involvement. From her office: http://bit.ly/1cZ6Muw

—After a meeting to resolve infighting on Indiana’s board of education, the state chief accused the governor’s office of trying to oust her. The Indianapolis Star: http://indy.st/18DIPfw

—And there's a new lawsuit over the board’s email chain that left out state chief Glenda Ritz. The Journal Gazette: http://bit.ly/18nkdBL

—The Lumina Foundation will spend $4 million on college completion efforts. The Chronicle of Higher Education: http://bit.ly/18DIDww